Lucy swore to save Mii as she flew off. She had no idea if Mii heard her or not, but the celestial wizard would see this through. It was at that moment she moved her leg to the side, just barely avoiding an emerald chain that attempted to pierce her thigh. "Knock it off, Emmeraude! Don't take your frustrations out on me."
"…." Emmeraude huffed. The one time she needed that to work and it didn't. "What transpired made me nearly forget that you have something of mine that I need back. If you don't mind, I'll be taking it back." This was all for the goal of retrieving the various 'pieces' of Sophie that had been scattered between those who stood against Emmeraude in the final battle of her revolution in Fiore. As such she also pulled out a needle of some kind. "So hold still."
"I do mind. You are not stabbing me with another chain, that doesn't work anymore." Lucy's face then paled at the needle. "You're not stabbing me with that either! What's your problem? What do you…"
Emmeraude glanced back. It seemed she was out of time and let out a silent groan. She couldn't say what she wanted because a pair of unwanted ears were listening in. "I'll get it from you one way or another…" The Empress grumbled before leaving. This day had not been the best day for her.
"Geez…" Lucy was just dumbstruck. That entire encounter was just…bad.
Standing just around the corner from the bakery was Lucia, who watched the events that happened in and out of the store. She couldn't help but snicker. "Well, that was quite a show and an unexpected one as that."
Shade appeared from Lucia's shadow, overlooking the events that transpired. "But thissssss servessss asssss a boon to usssss."
"You're right." Lucia whistled. "Alvarez's Empress was probably the only person who could have wrestled Mii from our grasp with a good fight. But it seems she's done us a favor instead and pushed her right to us. Things are looking very good for us on the first day."
Lucy could overhear Lucia speaking from around the corner. Her head turned back curiously, but she was unsure if she should intervene or just listen. "…"
"Now then, we'll be fighting Joya tomorrow. I wonder if we'll see a battle between Hunters, that'll be fun to watch~" Lucia started to walk off and Shade returned to her shadow.
Lucy peered around the corner, a bit surprised at what it was she just heard. "They know who they're fighting tomorrow…?" This only furthered the idea that there was some sketchy business going on….
Sometime later, Emmeraude returned to her Spriggan. While her expression was neutral, one could tell just by the air around her that she was irritated. Emerald was the first one to notice and approached her daughter with a smile. "Welcome back, Em."
"They didn't have the cake you wanted, Mother." Emmeraude replied.
"Oh, that's a shame. Thank you for going to check, though." Emerald said with her smile still present.
"Is it just me, or does she seem upset?" Dimaria questioned.
It was then that Jacob appeared from thin air. He had been shadowing Emmeraude with his stealth magic, ensuing that no one would dare make a move on the Empress as she wandered around the city at night. "There was…a not so rad encounter in the bakery. First Lucy was there."
"Oh…maybe I should've gone." Brandish said half paying attention. She was reclining in a seat, reading one of Crown City's magazines. Unbefitting of a Spriggan but Emmeraude let it slide. "I can only imagine how that went."
"About as you would expect." Jacob said. "But then Mii showed up. That's when it got ugly."
"The annoying one from Pergrande?" Julius questioned, flipping through a book. His eyes were on the book but he was paying attention to the conversation.
"Em, what happened?" Emerald's tone grew more concerned. She knew that Emmeraude and Mii's relationship was not one that one could describe with words. It was as complex as it could ever be.
Emmeraude remained silent for a moment before answering. "As it stands right now, Mii Koryuji is an enemy. In the event that one of you does battle with her, you have my permission to use everything in your power to bring her down."
"Em…" Emerald was not expecting that sort of response.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. It will be done." Julius replied.
"What the pretty boy said." Ken said before chugging down a bottle of water to keep himself hydrated.
"Yooooou got it!" Alice lifted a hand up.
"It shall be done." Oriana nodded simply. Ragen didn't say anything, but he too nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Little Queen and Zero said.
"Tough love is still love, and I'll be sure to deliver it if that's the order." G said with a neutral expression.
"…" Dimaria and Brandish looked at each other.
"If that's what you really want." Brandish said to Emmeraude. She intentionally said it that way, curiously gauging Emmeraude for a reaction of any kind, but the Empress did not budge. "Oh well…even if it's a pain, I'll do it."
"Good. I have faith in all of you." Emmeraude said firmly. Dealing with Mii should have been a task for her and her alone, but her hands were tied and the situation did not allow it.
Back in Erza's room, she was currently using a communication lacrima to speak with the others in Fairy Tail. Zelos was lingering in the room since Erza wasn't exactly in the best shape to move on her own. "Erza, are you all right?!" That came from Gray, who was practically taking up the whole screen. Needless to say, they saw what happened.
"I'd heal you if I could, Erza-san…!" Wendy exclaimed.
"They're gonna get it, I swear!" Cynthia clenched a hand into a fist. Watching what happened to Erza infuriated her just as much as it did everyone else.
"I'm all right…" Erza said with a weary smile.
"Are you sure?" Mira tilted her head. She didn't want to press the issue, but anyone could tell that Erza was far from fine, despite the brave face she attempted to put on. "Your guild mark…"
"…." Erza stared at the burnt mark on her arm. Lucia completely burned away her guild mark in front of the whole world. That was a blow on an emotional and mental level that was not easy to recover from.
"Bastards! I swear I'll make them pay!" Gray clenched a hand into a fist.
"Your concern is greatly appreciated, everyone." Erza said with a soft smile. "As it stands right now, I'm out of the competition until I can fight again…it may be a day or two until my full recovery. As it stands now, Reve is filling in as captain…"
"Ugh, that asshole, really?" Max rolled his eyes. "Of course he'd take the position as soon as you were unable to."
"Erza-chan needs her rest." Zelos commented. "And while I understand your valid concerns for her wellbeing, she needs to sleep."
"He's right." Mira said. This call was just to check up on Erza.
"One more thing." Laxus said. "Prometheus and Pandora."
"Yeah, they were using your old man all right." Zelos answered for Erza, since he knew such a question would be difficult to answer. "I don't know what those two are planning, but we're not the only ones keeping an eye on him. I'll keep ya updated."
"Right." Laxus nodded and the communication ended.
"…." Erza slumped back into bed, letting out a pained groan. "I'm sorry for my shameful display earlier. I truly jumped the gun."
Zelos waved a hand. "Nonsense, Erza-chan. Acting like that is just like you. You were only thinking of Mii-chan and the Queen. Your actions had noble intentions, which is one of the things I adore about you. Now then, you should be getting some rest. Day 2 is going to start and we'll need your moral support." With that, Zelos left Erza to sleep.
But how could Erza sleep like this? Her guild mark robbed from her in front of the world by their current enemy. Titania sat in darkness, letting out a heavy sigh as her eyes closed. "…."
Tia leaned against a wall, crossing her arms with a sigh. "Maybe we should've checked up on Fairy Tail. Watching what happened to Erza left a real sour taste in my mouth."
"I feel that, Sis." Jack groaned. "That was pretty shitty."
"There's nothing you can do." Joker stated bluntly. "They are our rivals in this competition. Whatever befalls them is on them alone."
"Ignoring him," Daigo brushed Joker's brash comment aside. "We clearly have more things on our plate to be worried about."
"Indeed." Heartless was looking over the footage of the events earlier in the day. "Today was the first day. Tomorrow is going to be the true beginning, now that we know what we're up against."
"We'll be able to handle it." Ace gave a thumbs up. As usual, he was munching loudly on some snack. It was obnoxious as ever and his fiancé was considering breaking it off if this kept up. "More importantly, I'm concerned about Midi. Using the ranks of the dead as toys like that? Seriously uncool."
"Who knows what they're planning…" Diamond said.
"Whatever the case, we need to be on guard." Tia added. "I feel like this competition is more than just about winning. The Wizard Hunters in Pergrande and Joya, something fishy is going on…"
In a completely secluded location, Prometheus and Pandora were questioning Eileen. "Come now, won't you spill the beans?" Prometheus questioned with his usual heinous smile. "I've noticed from the start that you have a bit more resistance than the others and your strength isn't the factor in that. The soul I reaped from you is incomplete!"
"So what of it…?" Elieen was not keen on being a puppet to these two, but they clearly needed her, which made her resistance all the more amusing.
"Where is the other part of you sleeping?" Pandora asked directly.
"You'll never find out. It's sleeping in a place you'll never find." Eileen responded. "I don't enjoy being flaunted about like some cheap toy. I have far more value than that and a body of my own I'd like to be in."
"A shame." Prometheus shrugged. "Because I still have you bound, so you're going to end up doing what I ask of you whether you like it or not. With the power of Fairy Heart that you failed to capture, our power exceeds your own. There isn't a force in this world that can stop us!"
"…" Eileen didn't say a word. "These two need to be stopped at all cost." She'd do it herself, but as Prometheus said, she was unfortunately under his control, incomplete or not.
Pergrande: 25
Alvarez: 10
Midi: 10
Minstrel: 10
Fiore: 0
Bosco: 0
Seven 0
"Welcome back everyone to day 2 of Ishgar's Strongest! I'm your main host, Chapati Lola, giving you the current scores from the end of the previous day!" Chapati began with a cheery voice. "In the first day, Pergrande showed a dominating performance, not only winning the first battle against Fiore, but also winning the first day's event for a complete victory. Will they be able to keep their momentum going into the second day!? We're all just dying to find out!"
"Not today, because Pergrande won't thrive as long as I'm in the lead." Reve said with a grin.
"Didn't you lose to Pergrande yesterday?" Lector pointed out.
"Only because I didn't use my full strength. I thought we went over this?" Reve shook his head. "Anyway, a cat like you doesn't have the right to talk. Leave the leadership to someone who knows what they're talking about."
"I wish Erza would recover sooner." Lucy groaned.
"Seriously, I can't stand this." Natsu was in agreement. As it stood right now, Erza was back at the hotel with Hisui and Happy watching over her, and watching the tournament from a lacrima screen. Jellal offered to stay and watch Erza, but since he was their backup, he was needed with them in case his abilities were needed. They did need their 10th after all.
"Just like yesterday, the four fights will happen first, then the event will finish off the day! So let's get started!" Chapati said.
That was Count Waltz's cue. "I'd like everyone to pay attention to the screen. The first match of the day will be Alvarez vs. Midi."
A chance to crush this new Alvarez? That had Ajeel's name written all over it! "This one's mine!" Ajeel exclaimed. Prometheus was feeling lenient today, so he opted to allow Ajeel this chance. "That old lady thinks her new Alvarez is so much stronger compared to the old…I'll remind her exactly where she stands."
"Allow me." Julius kept his book open, calmly stepping into the arena. A new Spriggan vs an old Spriggan! This was going to be a match to watch.
"And it seems we have our combatants! Ajeel Lamur of Midi vs Julius Grandeur of Alvarez!" Chapati yelled.
"Two Spriggan facing off against each other. I wonder what this result will yield; one being dead, while the other, alive." Calium questioned.
Julius and Ajeel stood across from each other. Ajeel held his usual high and mighty grin while looking at Julius. "So, you're one of the new Spriggan that old lady recruited? Don't make me laugh! You look like a twig. It'll be fun when I snap you in two, then I can show that hag that her kingdom is nothing before a true Spriggan! She'll be in shock when she realizes just how weak she and her new kingdom actually are! Hahaha!"
Julius closed his book, and as soon as his did, his magical pressure caused everything to stop. Every single spectator went silent the instant Julius made his power known. "Never mind the words aimed at me…but you had the audacity to insult the Empress. Ajeel Lamur, was it? We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Julius Grandeur, the Prince of Magic. The role of Spriggan was mine for a very long time, but that old man August stood in my way. Truthfully, I was hoping for a chance to face off and defeat him, but you'll have to suffice. I was going to allow you a moment in the sun to feel as if you still held any relevance…but after your words towards the Empress, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get serious…and I'm going to crush you."
"W-What the…?" Ajeel grit his teeth at this insane magic power he was feeling.
"It's actually a blessing in disguise that you crawled out of the grave when you did. Your grave in Alvarez is nothing more than an empty tombstone. So allow me to rectify that. Now then, I hope you have your final words ready. It's time to begin writing…"
.
.
Next Time: Your Eulogy.